Fullmetal Scientist
by Accalia Lea
Summary: What if Granny Pinako and Winry hadn't been around when Trisha died? What if those two had moved far away after Winry's parent's deaths and the boys ended up completely alone with their mother dead and father missing? How would their lives have turned out differently?
1. Introduction

Hello! So this story idea actually came to me while I was brainstorming ideas for another story I want to write. The idea was just too juicy to let sit so I'm writing this one first. Warnings; Ed will be 16 and Roy will be 29 in this story. This will be yaoi because, honestly, yaoi is my favorite! There will also be some fowl language and a character death is mentioned and will be explained later in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters!

**Introduction**

Edward sighed as he walked back into his studio apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him. He moved into his small kitchenette and grabbed a bag of chips from the counter before making his way over the easy chair near the window. Flopping himself into the chair, he opened the bag and grabbed a few chips as he stared out the window. Ed had just turned 16 last week and had spent all of today in the Slums with an excellent forger, creating his emancipated minor documents.

The 'Slums' were actually a section of the sewer pipes under Central City where all of the black market transactions took place. It was rather dangerous to have the largest black market in Amestris located practically directly beneath military headquarters, but the people who visited the Slums got a kick out of breaking the law anyway. Ed wasn't exactly proud to admit that he was one of them. For him, it was just a way to pay the bills, to survive.

His childhood hadn't exactly afforded him the luxury of a well rounded education, regular meals or friends. Everything had been alright, not good but not exactly bad either, up until the Rockbells had died. Soon after their deaths, Granny Pinako took Winry to live near her only remaining family, some cousins that were living in northern Drachma. Winry wrote a few times, but Trisha, Ed's mom, had gotten sick very quickly after they had left and Ed had never had a chance to respond to the letters.

When Trisha passed away Ed had been left to try to raise Alphonse on his own. For a boy of 12 to raise his younger brother was asking to much. They'd had no money and no one in their small town of Resembool could or would help them out. Ed had cursed their so called father every day for disappearing when they were young, and for not appearing now when they needed him most. The boys had gone hungry whenever they couldn't find any bird eggs or berries or wild game. Eventually they were starving and that was when Al had gotten sick.

Both boys had been extremely intelligent and were quite talented with alchemy, but they knew next to nothing about medicine. Ed had scrounged through every single book in his father's library and when he had found nothing useful he had gone to the town to beg someone, anyone, for help. The decision to beg had come when Ed woke up one morning to find Al burning up and vomiting profusely in their bathroom. There had been some red spots on his skin that were steadily getting worse, but that morning the spots had been blistered, some of them popping and oozing.

Terrified for his brother, Ed had nearly shouted, "Just hang on Al! I'll get some help," before bolting out the door and running toward town. By the time he had reached town, found the doctor, and convinced the man to go with him, nearly two hours had passed. Ed didn't like to think about what had happened after he opened the door to allow the doctor to follow him into their home.

When it was over, the doctor later told him that it was Smallpox that had killed Al. The townsfolk were nice enough to at least help Ed bury Al in a grave beside their mother's. A day later Ed buried himself in alchemical research. Once he had learned everything he could from his father's library he burned the family home and made his way toward a very small automail shop that was located near the train station.

He knew there would be a cost for what he had to do, but when he placed the ingredients in the circle and placed his hands on it to activate it...he never could have imagined the extent of what it would do to him. Something that, in reality, had probably only taken a few moments, had felt like a lifetime to Ed. He had opened The Gate, like he planned and it only cost him his lower left leg. He had then learned 'the truth,' like he had hoped, but this time it cost him his entire right arm.

The pained screams following that experience had alerted the shop owner of his presence and the man had taken him in. He had given Ed an automail arm and leg to replace his missing body parts and had never asked how Ed had lost them in the first place. That old man would have been happy to pretend he had never met Ed if it wasn't for the fact that the automail was rather expensive. Having no money meant that Ed spent the next year of his life living with the man to work off his debt.

When he reached 13 the old man had considered his debt paid and kicked him out. Ed had then stowed away on a train headed for Central City. Now here he was, three years later, living in a studio apartment and practically running the black market 'science department.' Basically, that meant he was considered the expert on creating gunpowder, bombs, poisons and pretty much anything else related to science or alchemy. His genius brain was finally paying off, but even though he was fairly rich he kept a low profile.

Down in the Slums he was known as Fullmetal and no one outside of his hometown knew his real name. He was fairly certain that everyone back in Resembool had most likely forgotten it by now. The name on the emancipated minor paperwork he'd had forged today was a fake and the forger was smart enough to know that, but also smart enough not to ask about it.

When the bag of chips was empty Ed stood and walked back into the kitchenette, tossing the bag in the trash and glancing down at the paperwork. The name 'Allen Hughes' laid across the top of the page. Allen was a tribute to his brother, Al. Hughes was the last name of an idiotic military man Ed had seen on the street once. The man had been gushing about his wife to a stranger who had handed the man's dropped wallet back to him. The stranger had looked extremely uncomfortable and Ed had nearly felt the urge to punch the idiot, but in his line of work it was best to avoid any contact with the military.

It was no secret that the military was searching for the mysterious 'Fullmetal' and if they should ever get far enough as to suspect Ed he would have these papers ready for them. The hope was that the name 'Hughes' would start some shit within their ranks. It'd be funny at the very least. This particular document was not the first he had the forger draft for him. There was a government ID and a document from an orphanage showing that he had been dumped there as a baby. The orphanage he had chosen to use for this was one that had shut down only a few years ago due to a child abuse case. If they questioned him about his automail he would use that as an excuse, extreme child abuse.

Ed grabbed a glass of water and downed it. He then refilled it and carried it over to his bed, placing it on the bedside table. After stripping down he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep within minutes.


	2. Chapter 1

The first chapter is here! Updates after this may come sporadically because I'm having the furnace replaced in my house and it's a real headache. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters!

**Chapter 1**

After a quick shower the next morning, Ed dressed in his signature black leather pants, black sleeveless shirt, combat boots and black jacket. Lastly he pulled on his white gloves, the outfit effectively hiding his automail. He smirked. His name was not the only thing people didn't know about him. Locking his apartment door, Ed dropped the key into a hidden compartment he had fashioned on the inside of his mailbox as he left the building.

The only thing he ever carried with him was the forged ID card and a little cash. He used some of the cash to pick up a cup of coffee and a couple breakfast burritos on his way to the hidden entrance he used to get into the Slums. Ed's entrance to the Slums was quite a ways away from his apartment and he took different routes every day so as not to draw attention. Once he entered the sewer system he followed a long maze of tunnels until he eventually reached the hidden doorway to his lab.

The door was completely hidden to the naked eye, wedged between a pipe and an area where the concrete walls met in a corner. He had carved the room out of these walls using his alchemy and had fashioned the door so that it could only be activated by a very specific alchemical circle, one of his own design.

The lab was small, but it was ventilated and was perfect for storing his equipment and processing the orders he received at his stall in the Slums. This morning Ed was stopping by the lab to pick up a couple of completed orders before making his way down to said stall. He finished his coffee on the walk back (the Slums were located in the opposite direction of his lab from the sewer entrance he always used) and tossed it into a bin near the entrance of the black market area.

"Morning Fullmetal," Darius, one of the guards, greeted him as he entered.

Ed nodded curtly in response and made his way over to his stall. He was now practicing his black market, illegal chemicals dealer persona. He had picked up a habit of creating different personalities for himself based on whatever situation he happened to be in and had spent the last few years of his life practicing slipping in and out of them flawlessly. When he had woken up this morning he had just been Edward Elric; a quiet, thoughtful, but passionate genius who knew much more than any 16 year old should about science, alchemy and life in general. This persona held true in the lab as well.

On the streets of Central City he was Allen Hughes; a smiling, happy and relatively smart assed blonde who ate a lot and projected an air of stupidity. If the military ever catches up to him this is the only persona they will meet with. This persona would be only too happy to hand over the forged documents and answer any questions the military may ask with a smile.

The last persona he used on a regular basis was the one he slipped into just before coming into view of the entrance to the Slums. Fullmetal; the no nonsense, I-could-easily-poison-you-and-no-one-would-ever-know, black market salesman who rarely smiled, but when he did...it was downright scary. This man gave people the impression that his young looks were a farce and that he could be trusted to the same extent any other criminal could be trusted; he'd keep your business with him private and provide you with the highest quality illegal shit you'd ever seen.

Today was Tuesday and there was only one reason he was here. It was distribution day, the day in which he delivered the products that had been ordered and he collected the final half of the payment (he always required half of the price at the time of the order to help with purchasing supplies or ingredients). Thursdays were when he would sit at his stall for most of the day taking orders. He'd then spend the weekends in his lab which left him with free time on Wednesdays.

There were only two orders he had to drop off today. One was a small but complex pipe bomb and the other was a paralysis poison. Both were fetching him quite a good amount of money so, as with all of his orders, he hadn't bothered to ask what they would be used for. The buyers were scheduled to meet him at the stall approximately half an hour apart and neither of them were late, much to Ed's delight.

"Thank you Fullmetal!" the last buyer smiled as he turned to leave.

"Just remember the rules," Ed warned. The man's smile dropped away and he nodded solemnly before rushing to the exit of the Slums, probably eager to put his poison to use.

The rules he had mentioned were as follows; 1) tell no one where you obtained this, 2) if you were questioned about Fullmetal, you said nothing, 3) never, ever describe Fullmetal's appearance to anyone, not even other potential customers. The rules were simple, but of course a few people had tested him. No one could figure out how Fullmetal knew the rules had been broken, but inevitably the rule breaker would turn up dead. The authorities normally determined the cause of death to be a heart attack, but the people who were familiar with the Slums and who knew about Fullmetal would know that the person had been poisoned. No one ever lived to break the rules twice.

Ed spent the rest of that afternoon running a few errands. After getting groceries and returning them to his apartment he went to a local automail shop that he frequented for adjustments and repairs. He had gotten a little taller and would need a new set. The shop owner knew 'Allen Hughes' since the kid was a regular customer and always paid him extra so that he wouldn't tell anyone that the kid had automail at all. Because of their familiarity the owner allowed Ed to enter through the back entrance where he wouldn't be seen.

Last Wednesday was when Ed had gone in to order the new automail so he was there this Tuesday afternoon to get it attached. This was the main thing he hated about having automail. The attachment process was fucking painful, but he always did his best to grit his teeth and stay quiet through the whole process. It was like his own personal test of strength and the shop owner always told him how stupid he was for doing it.

An hour and a half later Ed left through the back door of the shop, grumbling profanities under his breath and hoping he wouldn't run into any people on his way to his next destination. He didn't feel like pretending to be cheery little Allen Hughes at this moment. Fighting the strong urge to limp on his sore left leg, Ed chose to focus on the pain in his shoulder. Reaching up with his left hand he began to gently massage the shoulder just above the metal connector that was embedded in his skin.

Most of the tension had left his shoulder by the time he walked through the door of his next destination. It was essentially a whorehouse that fronted as a bar. The proprietor was a skilled informant who went by the name of Madame Christmas. Ed was the only person who had discovered what she truly did for a living completely on his own.

Madame Christmas, Chris to her inner circle, had come down to the Slums one day searching for Fullmetal. Ed had been wary from the moment she had approached his stall, but when she had mentioned her little whorehouse to him his suspicions had been confirmed. Of course, being the 15 year old virgin he was at that time, he had taken her offer of a free night with one of her girls. He hadn't spoken a single word to the girl during the encounter. As soon as it was over he had left the room to inform Chris that she wouldn't be getting any information out of him and that if she tried to sell information about Fullmetal she'd find herself on the receiving end of a lot of hate from the Slums (a very terrifying threat to anyone who knew a damn thing about that place).

Eventually the two had formed an understanding and Ed now provided the brothel with a powdered antidote to the common date rape drugs. The powder could be mixed into a girl's drink and would counteract any drug that was dropped into the already made drink. In exchange Ed received free drinks and was allowed to eavesdrop on any of her unsuspecting clients.

After the painful ordeal of getting new automail, Ed was primarily here for the alcohol today, but he would never ignore an opportunity for information if one should present itself. Taking his normal seat at the end of the bar, Ed smiled when Chris walked over to him. While at the bar Ed projected a mature and polite persona, therefore the smile was more of an upturned curve of the lips rather than the grin he normally wore as Allen Hughes.

"What can I get for you today?" Chris asked, returning the smile.

"The usual please." 'The usual' was beer. Ed could drink quite a few of them before becoming buzzed and he never allowed himself to get beyond that point while in public. The last thing he needed was for a problem to arise when he didn't have all of his wits about him.

Just as Chris set the glass in front of him, the door opened and a man in a black suit walked in. Ed discreetly observed him through the mirror behind the bar as he sipped at his beer. The man was of average height, probably around 5'9" (Ed internally shouted profanities at himself as he had insinuated that his 4'11" was short if this man was average) and had black, slightly long hair.

"Roy boy!" Chris greeted as the man walked up to the bar just a few stools down from Ed.

"Madame," the man called Roy responded with a smile. Ed shivered slightly at the husky depth to the man's voice and nearly slapped himself when he caught himself thinking that the man was handsome...very much so. He managed to keep himself under control and took another sip of his beer.

"Can we speak privately?" Roy asked.

"No one else is here Roy," Chris sighed, but she didn't miss Roy's sidelong glance toward Ed at the end of the bar. "There's something special in his drink," she whispered, "he won't remember a thing." This was also a part of their arrangement. If someone got suspicious she'd pretend that she'd drugged Ed and Ed would slowly start to act like the drug was affecting him after enough time had passed.

"Very well..." Roy hesitated, turning fully to look at Ed for a moment before his attention was directed back to Chris. "Were you able to find any information about Fullmetal?"

"Not a damn thing. There's plenty of talk in the Slums, but no one seems to know what he looks like, or at least, no one wants to admit they know what he looks like. Seems like he's a rather terrifying fellow," Chris spoke before turning around and grabbing a scotch glass, discreetly casting a glance at Ed who nodded in approval at what she'd said, before turning and filling it for Roy. Roy finally sat on one of the stools and sighed heavily as he picked up the glass.

"I was really hoping it'd be easier to catch this guy."

"Still trying to find an easy way to get your next promotion I see," Chris shook her head.

"I still work my ass off you know, but if I could catch that man..." Roy paused to take a drink. "It has taken every resource at headquarters, but the scientists have been able to recognize chemical similarities between the poison that killed some of our officers and the bomb that took out Central Library. If I could find proof that it was Fullmetal's doing there would definitely be a promotion in it for me."

"Sounds like Fullmetal's just the dealer, not the real problem. Why are people attacking the military?"

"Because of the war that's brewing with Drachma. People are afraid of the inevitable draft once the fighting starts," Roy finished his drink and Chris refilled the glass. She stepped away for a moment to hand Ed another beer and he gave her a slightly bleary smile. Roy noticed it.

"See," she said as she walked back to Roy. "I just gave him his second beer. The meds are already kicking in."

"Is he even old enough to be drinking?" Roy frowned as he looked the blonde over once again.

"Legally he's considered an adult. He's been a regular patron of mine for some time now and he isn't always just here for the drinks," Chris explained and Roy immediately understood that she was talking about the whorehouse side of her business. Ed turned his slightly bleary gaze toward Roy and winked as he caught the older man staring. Roy blushed and quickly turned back to Chris. "In any case, are you interested in getting drunk tonight Roy boy? Sounds like you could use it and I've got nothing better to do at the moment."

"I just might have to do that," Roy smiled as he finished the drink and handed the empty glass back to Chris.

_Well shit, _Ed thought. _I just wanted a drink tonight, but this man is a fucking gold mine of information. Doesn't hurt that he's sexy as hell either. Wait, no! Don't even go there, he's Roy Mustang. You've seen his picture in some old newspapers on the Ishval war. He's a fucking Colonel and you need to avoid that shit!_ Ed drained the second beer much quicker than the first and pasted a slightly more bleary smile on his face when Chris refilled it.

An hour later Ed was working on his fifth beer and was beginning to feel a good buzz. Roy, however, had just downed his sixth glass of scotch and appeared to be fairly inebriated. The man slowly stood from his stool, wobbling slightly, and began making his way toward the restrooms. He had to walk past Ed to get to them and the younger man couldn't help but notice the extremely attractive scent of cologne when Roy passed him.

Ed expected Roy to walk right by him and go back to the stool when he returned, but the older man stopped and sat right next to him. He sat facing Ed and quietly studied him. Ed took a steadying breath before turning to look into the dark eyes that never left his face. He tilted his head, giving Roy a slightly bleary, curious look, still playing the part of being drugged.

"How old are you, really?" Roy asked, the words sounding only slightly slurred. His intense gaze never left Ed's face. Ed allowed a slow smile to tug up the corner of his lips.

"Why, are you interested?" he quirked an eyebrow as he leaned forward, bringing their faces closer together. Roy's eyes darted toward the blonde's lips and he swallowed.

"Could I be arrested if I was?" Chris coughed into her hand to prevent Ed from answering Roy's question.

"While the drug I gave him does nothing to affect his personality or sex drive, I did drug the man Roy. He won't remember any of this," Chris spoke and Ed pasted a shocked look onto his face at her words.

"You drugged me?" he half whined. Ed almost couldn't tell if the whine was part of the act or if it was because their flirting had been interrupted. "Well...since I won't remember this," Ed started as he stood from his stool. Roy looked at him curiously before his expression morphed into a kind of surprised delight when Ed leaned forward and kissed him, a gentle peck of their lips. "Bye," Ed smiled, still a bit blearily, before turning and walking out the door.


	3. Chapter 2

This chapter is a little shorter, but I thought it was time for an update! I couldn't remember what the minimum age for enlistment in the Amestrian military was and I couldn't find it online so I made up the age of 19 as the minimum. Please follow/review! Bonus: Can you guess who the officer is that's speaking to Ed at the end of this chapter?

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters.

**Chapter 2**

_What the hell was I thinking!_ Ed internally screamed at himself as he paced his apartment the next morning. It was so completely stupid to get physically involved with a member of the military and he couldn't believe that he had actually kissed a god damn Colonel of all people! Perhaps Madam really had drugged him. _No, she's smarter than that._ Someone in her position wouldn't risk death just to..._What if her intention was to get me to sleep with that man? The military is searching for Fullmetal and what better way to catch him then by having him get close to a Colonel? _

Nope! Put a fucking stopper on those thoughts right now. Madam had a lot of connections, but if she really wanted Ed to be caught she wouldn't have gone about it in such a sloppy manner. Besides, Ed would know if he had been drugged. He knew every symptom and every side effect of every drug on the market and the only thing that he was under the influence of last night was a little bit of beer...and his own stupidity apparently.

It was all made worse by the fact that he had enjoyed that kiss. Brief as it had been, he had still been able to appreciate the softness of the older man's lips and the way Roy had seemed to instantly accept the attention. He couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to deepen that kiss while getting his hands on that well sculpted ass...

Slapping himself for his wayward thoughts, Ed grabbed an apple from the counter and slid his jacket on before leaving to head to the lab for the day. It was a free day and he didn't have any orders to complete, but that didn't mean he couldn't work on any of his personal research. The thought of working on developing some of his most recent alchemical theories brought a smile to Ed's face and he resolved to forget about the incident with the Colonel.

Roy sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He had a headache (from last night's drinking) and was using that as today's excuse for avoiding his paperwork. Hawkeye would not be pleased, but he could only hope she had the day off. One of his subordinates, he couldn't tell which one as he didn't lift his head, brought him a glass of water and some Aspirin. They said something, but he didn't pay any attention and they soon left. He took the medicine before leaning back in his chair, eyes closed and face tilted toward the ceiling.

Despite the amount of alcohol he had consumed last night, Roy remembered everything...including the surprise kiss from the handsome stranger. It bothered him that he had never gotten the man's name, but it bothered him even more that he still didn't know how old the man was. Chris, being the ever helpful motherly figure in Roy's life, had stopped their flirting before he could find out. Of course, he knew that was a good thing.

From the few comments she made about the man...kid...whatever, he visited her establishment frequently which placed him as a member of the darker side of society in Roy's mind. Roy had no issue with using such people to help him get information, but it wouldn't help his reputation if the man was a criminal...or a kid...and anyone found out that they had slept together. He was aiming to become the Fuhrer one day and he had to have a clean record for that. Best to just forget about the whole night. Roy sighed and finally turned his attention to his paperwork just as Riza Hawkeye entered the room.

Ed stretched his hands over his head, finally looking up from his research. A quick glance at his lab's wall clock told him it was time to wrap it up for the day. Somehow he had forgotten to eat lunch and it was now 6pm. His stomach rumbled loudly in complaint. After everything was packed up Ed left his lab and made his way slowly back to the sewer entrance. He thought he'd treat himself and stop at his favorite cafe for dinner before going home.

The cafe was crowded when he arrived so he went straight to the counter to order his food to go. Ed didn't like spending much time here when it was busy. Military personal tended to frequent this place around this time and he certainly didn't need to risk having to talk to one of them right now. Once he was back outside with his food Ed felt himself relax just a little bit.

Rounding the corner on his way back toward the apartment, someone ran into him and Ed had to bite back the rage that threatened to bubble up inside him. He quickly pasted on his sweet, little, Allen Hughes act as he smiled up at the person who hit him.

"Sorry! Are you okay there?" Upon making eye contact with the man, Ed realized it was the customer who had purchased the pipe bomb from him and the happy smile immediately left his face.

"I need your help," the man whispered.

"Tomorrow," Ed growled lowly and moved to walk around the man. He would just have to wait until Fullmetal's regular shift in the Slums.

"Please!" The man said in a raised voice and Ed glared dangerously at him. "It's an emergency," the man continued in a much quieter tone.

"Alley," Ed stated as he clenched his jaw and shouldered passed the taller man so he could walk into the nearest alley. The man followed meekly. He was clearly nervous and Ed's gaze quickly scanned their surroundings before he led the brunette man into the alley. It didn't appear that anyone was following the man and that was very fortunate. Otherwise Ed would have killed him later.

"They're on to me," the man spoke as soon as they were in the alley. "I found out that there was a witness and the military plans to send someone to my house in an hour to question me. I need a poison, like maybe a gas..."

"Idiot," Ed growled. "You should just bail town now..."

"I can't!" the man interrupted. "I have to go back there to get some shit before I can leave!" The man didn't elaborate as to what was so important that it was worth risking the death penalty to retrieve and Ed didn't ask.

"Usual fee plus ten percent for the rush. All up front or no deal." Ed ground his teeth. He had a bottle of poison sitting in the lab right now that would be exactly what this man was looking for, but he was pissed and he wasn't going to make this easy for the dipshit in front of him. Just as the man started to agree Ed caught movement from the corner of his eye.

Turning his head slightly, he took notice of a military officer standing at the end of the alley. The officer hadn't noticed them yet, but there was a photo in his hand and when Ed squinted he noticed that it was a photo of the man in front of him. The man had been a loyal customer and though Ed wanted to kill the man himself, he was willing to help the guy out just this once.

"Company...play along," Ed's tone left no room for argument and the man was quick to notice the officer and nod. Ed reached out and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt as he spun them around, wedging himself between the man and the wall behind them. The man's back was now to the officer and Ed pulled him in for a heated kiss.

Peering out at the end of the alley from beneath his lashes, Ed saw the officer notice them, but a moment later the officer seemed to decide against interrupting them as an embarrassed blush broke out across his face and he quickly left. As soon as the officer was out of sight Ed shoved the man off of him. He spat on the ground before wiping his mouth with his sleeve and glaring once more at the man.

"Get the fee. Meet me in the alley behind Madame's in 20 minutes." Ed then stormed out of the alley and began to make his way back to his lab.

By the time Ed finally made it back home that evening the food he had purchased was no longer warm. He scowled angrily at the microwave as he waited for it to reheat. The only thing that brought any peace to his mind was that he would never have to see that man again. If the idiot managed to use the poison properly he would be leaving town tonight and it was highly unlikely that he would ever come back.

"If I'm gonna kiss someone I'd prefer..." an image of Roy Mustang popped up in his mind, but he quickly shook that thought away, "...someone more attractive, and preferably less idiotic." As soon as his food was warm enough he ate quickly and then headed to bed.

***The next day***

"**Citizens of Amestris. It is with deep regret that I make this announcement today. As many of you may know, tensions with our northern neighbor, Drachma, have been mounting for some time. Yesterday those tensions peaked when the army of Drachma launched an attack on Deptford in the northern part of West Area**."

"Fuck," Ed grumbled from his position at the back of the crowd of people who had gathered to watch the Fuhrer's announcement outside of Central's military headquarters. No one noticed him as their attention was riveted on the Fuhrer.

"**The attack left us with no choice but to declare war. In the next few days we will be accepting volunteers who wish to join the military in an effort to protect this country and its people. Those who wish to enlist should make their way to the southern end of this building. There are tables set up with military personnel who will take your information and start your induction. With your help, I know we will defeat this enemy and earn justice for the people of Deptford. Thank you.**"

As the Fuhrer made his way down from the stage the people who were gathered for the announcement finally reacted. There were some cheers, but mostly there were cries of outrage, sobs from the relatives of the people of Deptford, and shouts of the men who wanted to enlist. Ed was not part of any of these groups. He stood quietly in his place at the back as he thought about the Fuhrer's speech.

Roy had specifically told Chris that a draft was 'inevitable' if war broke out, but Fuhrer Bradley had not mentioned anything about a draft. He had instead appealed to the citizen's sense of justice by asking them to voluntarily enlist in retaliation to the loss of the people of Deptford. However, that didn't mean there wouldn't be a draft if enough people didn't enlist.

This left Ed in a bit of a predicament. Drafts had rules that he may be able to escape due to the fact that he was only 16, but if that came to pass and he had to fight the draft it may attract more attention to him then he was comfortable with. It's not like he could just disappear into the sewers, live in his lab and buy all of his supplies at the Slums. The sewers would be the first place the military checked if too many people evaded the draft, as Ed was sure they would.

That left him with only two choices; enlist and try to avoid suspicion, or attempt to avoid the draft and potentially trigger an investigation. Either way, the chances of him being caught and arrested were high, but Ed decided to choose the method that would postpone any such action for the longest amount of time. With that decision made, Ed calmly made his way toward the enlistment tables at the southern end of the building.

"Name and age," a blonde male with slightly spiky hair in the front and a cigarette hanging from his lips stated boredly as Ed approached the first table. The man hadn't even glanced up from his clipboard and Ed smirked internally.

"Allen Hughes, 16," he stated cheerfully. At this the man finally looked up from his clipboard, an unimpressed frown on his face.

"Minimum enlistment age is 19 kid. Try again in a few years."

"19 or legally an adult right?" Ed questioned in the same cheerful tone. The man's frown deepened, but he nodded. "Well..." Ed pulled the emancipated minor paperwork out of his coat pocket and unfolded it for the officer, "I'm legally an adult." The man sighed, but nodded as he skimmed the document and the proceeded to right the name 'Allen Hughes' onto his clipboard.

"Height and weight?" Ed grumbled under his breath, but provided honest answers. He caught the man eyeing him up for a moment before he wrote the weight down. Obviously he wouldn't look like he weighed as much as he actually did. That was because of the automail.

"Branch you'd like to volunteer for?" After he provided his answer the man looked up again, clearly disbelieving. "What did you say?"

"I said...I'd like to be a state alchemist," Ed smiled.


	4. Chapter 3

Hey! Sorry for the delay in posting new chapters. Been having a little bit of writers block. In this chapter we finally reach exam day! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters!

**Chapter 3**

"My suggestion would be to find yourself a good tutor for at least the next year and take the exams then," Roy explained while Ed listened patiently. The Colonel had noticed Ed at the enlistment tables a few days ago and took it upon himself to reach out to the young man. He had been pleased to learn more about the mysterious stranger that had kissed him in the bar and it eased his conscience to know the man was legally an adult and his name was Allen Hughes. Roy only wondered how this young man thought he could pass the state alchemist certification at such a young age.

"No need," Ed smiled. "Could you maybe recommend a good library with all the materials I might need instead? Oh, and I won't be waiting a year. I'd like to take the exam as soon as possible."

"Don't be too cocky. You only get two chances to pass in a five year time frame you know," Roy frowned, but the blonde didn't seem fazed. Sighing, Roy relented. "You can use my personal library since only state alchemists have access to the national library."

"Okay, thanks! When can I get started?" Ed's smile still hadn't left his face.

Two hours later, Ed was sitting in the middle of a pile of books on the floor of Roy's library, notebook open on his lap as he read and took notes. Judging by the dedication he had witnessed so far, Roy assumed the young man wouldn't be leaving this room for anything other than personal hygiene and food for the next month or so until the exam.

While he had no problem with that, Roy also wasn't really used to house guests. It took a while, but he eventually found some spare sheets that would fit the bed in the guest room and, while Ed was still holed up in the library, Roy cleaned and dusted the room. Even if the younger man would most likely spend all of his time in the library he should at least be offered a decent place to rest.

"Is there anything else you need?" Roy asked after showing Ed the guest bedroom. The blonde only shook his head and waived Roy off as he went back to scribbling notes onto the paper in his lap on the floor of the library. "Goodnight then Allen." It was gone in half a second, but Roy noted that, at the sound of his name, a startled look seemed to cross the younger man's features, almost as if he had forgotten who he was for a moment. As soon as the look disappeared there was a bright smile adorning the blonde's face and he turned to offer a small wave.

"Goodnight Roy!" Ed was once again cursing himself internally. He had been so absorbed in his research that he had temporarily forgotten whose home he was currently in. The initial response he had given was that of his Fullmetal persona. He would need to take more care not to act in such a manner around the people he would be surrounded by from now on.

Ed barely left Roy's library for the next week. The Colonel resigned himself to bringing meals into the library so that his house guest wouldn't starve. Roy noticed that the younger man seemed to have developed a system for getting through all of the books in his library and by the end of the first week, the blonde had made it through all of the books along the back wall, approximately a quarter of the entire library.

The next state alchemist exam was now three weeks away and at this rate Ed planned to have made it through every book currently available to him in this house. Much of the knowledge before him he had already known, but having a refresher never hurt. In fact, some of the notes he had already gathered would be really helpful to his current research.

As he put down the book he had just finished reading, Ed stood and stretched. He had already made the important people of the Slums aware that he would not be returning for quite some time, but he was feeling a need to at least get some exercise. It had been too long since his last workout.

"Hey Roy?" Ed called out as he left the library to search for the man.

"You should really start calling me Colonel if you want to be a state alchemist. You'll most likely end up being on my team if you pass you know," the raven sighed from where he was seated in the living room, just across the hall from the library.

"I'll work on that," Ed smiled. "Do you happen to have any workout equipment? It's been a bit too long since I've gotten some proper exercise."

"Huh, that's not a bad idea. Let me change quick and then I'll show you the way," Roy stated as he stood to leave the living room. He entered the hall and then turned left into a door just off the wide open kitchen.

Ed went into his temporary room to change into some sweats. He had no intention of letting the Colonel know about his automail so he made sure to wear a long sleeved shirt with sweatpants and a pair of black gloves that were designed to be used by weightlifters. When he exited his room into the hall that was opposite the kitchen from Roy's room he looked up to see Roy crossing the kitchen toward him.

"It's in the basement," Roy stated before opening the right of the two doors that stood in the same hall as Ed's room. Ed followed the older man down the steps and into a wide empty room. A large arch on their right opened into a large home gym. Roy paused before entering to point out one more thing.

"The laundry room is that first door on the right in case you'd like to use it."

"Oh, thanks!" Ed responded before moving into the gym and making his way over to a treadmill for a warm up run. He did a few stretches and then started up the treadmill. As he ran he observed the Colonel in his workout.

The older man was currently using a leg press, lifting perhaps 80 pounds. Dressed in shorts and a tank top, Roy's muscles were very easy to spot and Ed found that his eyes kept wandering over ever inch of exposed flesh watching the way the muscles flexed with every movement. He couldn't help but think back to the night he had kissed the man. Realizing that train of thought would not result in anything positive while he was dressed in sweats, Ed spent the rest of his workout studiously focused on his training while his eyes intently mapped out the walls of the room.

After about 45 minutes Roy was ready wrap up his workout. He moved to the treadmill to run for a while before he started his cool down stretches. When they first entered this room, the Colonel had not failed to notice his housemate's eyes carefully observing his every move. The attention had actually been rather welcome so he was a bit disappointed when Allen had suddenly become very focused. _Oh well,_ he thought. _Best not to have any distractions right now._

As he ran, Roy allowed his mind to shift back to the current case he had been working that had been giving him such a headache. Fullmetal...Roy couldn't understand how there seemed to be no one alive who had seen the man. There's no way he could be hiding behind some sort of mask because people remembered those who dressed unusually. He had even sent his best spy, Madam, down to the slums and she hadn't been able to bring him any valuable information either. That meant that either Fullmetal was very good at hiding in plain sight, or he had some sort of accomplice.

"Is this some kind of legitimate gym?" the younger man called out suddenly, breaking into Roy's thoughts.

"Huh," he chuckled, "no. I just don't like my guests to stink," he explained after realizing that Allen was talking about the bathroom. It was larger than the upstairs bathroom and contained three side-by-side standing showers, two toilet stalls and on the opposite side of the room there was a rack full of towels next to the two sinks. "Don't worry, I'm planning to take my shower upstairs." Roy almost wanted to slap himself as soon as the words left his mouth, but he knew that it would only distract him more if he saw this man naked.

"Alright, if you say so," Ed smirked in a manner that was almost flirtatious, and watched as the Colonel swallowed hard. He disappeared into the bathroom before the older man could respond. _If he saw me naked it would defeat the purpose of wearing these sweats anyways,_ Ed scolded himself. As soon as he was showered and dressed, he made his way back to the library, intent on getting some more studying done.

When the day of the exam finally arrived Roy drove them both to the exam field. He was to be one of judges. As the Colonel of one of the teams that needed some new recruits he would be there to provide some expert advice should the Fuehrer ask. He hoped that his temporary housemate had prepared well enough given the short period of time he'd taken to study.

The exam was being held about a half hour drive outside of the city this year. The Fuehrer liked to test new recruits in a different type of terrain each time they held this exam. The man seemed to enjoy watching the recruits panic when they couldn't use the type of alchemy they had been preparing to use. Roy supposed it was a good way to test their adaptability, but he sometimes wondered if his leader didn't just like to torture people.

"A swamp?" Ed questioned as Roy pulled into a parking space just off the main road. He didn't hear whether the Colonel had actually responded. He was busy calculating all of the possible ways this could go wrong and how he would counteract those situations.

"**Welcome, recruits, to your exam day,"** the Fuehrer's voice suddenly boomed over the small crowd that had gathered. Ed noticed that Roy had already made his way to the front and was now standing in a line of what could only be other state alchemists, most likely here to judge the exam.

"**For this exam, you will all enter the swamps together. The goal will be to prevent your fellow examinees from exiting the swamp, doing so in a way that will show us your skills. As you all know, we have recently gone to war. One of the goals in war is to prevent the enemy from advancing while still leaving yourself room for a strategic retreat when necessary. You are not allowed to kill each other, and you are not allowed to bring anything but what you are currently wearing with you when you enter. Now, begin!"**

All at once, the examinees began running toward the swamp, eager to begin. Ed followed behind at a leisurely pace, knowing that the proctors would appreciate someone who showed analytical skills by demonstrating that he knew how to preserve his energy until it was actually needed. Once he had entered the swamp, he was immediately grateful for the height of his boots. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the mud out of his automail after this was all over.

"Ahhhh!" Someone screamed and Ed ducked behind a nearby tree. He observed as a man ran from flying wooden splinters that were clearly alchemically altered. It appeared that the man's attacker had taken the instructions to mean that he should prevent the other examinees from running away from his attacks.

Ed began to ponder the full meaning of the Fuehrer's speech as he watched the mostly one-sided battle. If all of the participants were to do as they had been told, the exam would be pointless. All of them preventing each other from leaving would mean that no one would be trying to leave. Could it be that the attacker he was watching had actually not been one of the examinees, but a soldier who had been sent to pose as the enemy?

If that were the case, why would the Fuehrer tell them that the goal was to prevent each other from leaving and not to prevent these attackers from advancing? Ed contemplated that question as he watched the other examinee continue to dodge the flying splinters as he made his way closer to the edge of the swamp. The answer struck Ed just as a splinter grazed the man's arm and he screamed again.

Deserters... The Fuehrer wanted to make sure that anyone working for him would be loyal and that meant that they had to be able to control their fellow officers, direct them to continue following orders. Ed scowled. That bastard would probably explain everything at the end of all this and dress it up to sound like he wanted to test their courage and teamwork, but Ed wouldn't be fooled. Still...he needed to pass this exam.

He quickly swapped the white glove on his left hand for a special one he only used when he knew he'd be performing alchemy in a public location. Ed ran out from behind the tree and snapped his fingers when he got closer to the fleeing man. He slapped his left hand against another tree and caused the wood to flatten and extend outward, blocking the next wave of splinters from hitting the other examinee. He then called out to the man and beckoned him to follow.

"Over here!" Ed waited for the man to catch up before they both ran deeper into the swamp. Once he was sure the attacker was no longer following them they stopped, both panting from running through the sticky mud of the swamp.

"Why...did we go...deeper in?" the man panted. "What if...he comes back?"

"Goal is to keep others from leaving remember?" Ed responded once he had caught his breath.

"Right...Well, thanks for helping me. I'm Yakovlev," the man offered his hand and smiled. Ed took it and gave a firm shake, but did not offer his own name.

"Good to meet you! We should keep moving, in case he's still following. I'm going to see if there is anyone else who needs help," he said before turning to walk perpendicular from where they had come. If he wanted to stop more people, he'd have to head back toward the beginning area, but he didn't want to risk getting caught in a fight. It wouldn't do to show too much skill and he didn't know how well he'd be able to hold back. An idea struck him suddenly, and he began gathering specific mushrooms and roots as he walked. He would need a large amount if this were to work.

"Hey, do you think you could help me out with something?" Ed asked Yakovlev, who was still following him closely.

"Sure! It's the least I could do after you helped me. What do you need?"

"See these," Ed showed him the mushrooms and roots he had already picked up and he nodded. "Can you pick more of these up as we go? I may have a way for us to get out of this pretty easily." Ed smiled brightly, but he knew that his plan would affect everyone in the swamp, including his companion.

"No problem!"

About a half hour later, the two had gathered a large amount of the necessary ingredients for Ed's plan. They had heard more fighting, but no screams so Ed had not felt the need to get involved. He now used a stick to draw a large transmutation circle into a patch of soft earth that was above the water level of the area. Once it was drawn they placed all of the mushrooms and roots in the middle.

"I've never seen a transmutation circle like that. What's it for?" Yakovlev asked curiously.

"Something special. Still missing one ingredient though. You don't happen to have a knife do you?"

"Uhhh...yeah. Here," the man offered as he passed Ed the knife from his belt. He now looked hesitant, slightly unsure.

"I don't use this particular circle very often. The last ingredient isn't really the most pleasant. You may want to look away," he said with the ever present cheer of Allen Hughes. When the other man did not move, Ed shrugged and began rolling up the sleeve on his left arm. Once it was rolled up to the elbow he pinched a small amount of the skin on his arm between his right thumb and the blade, quickly slicing it off.

"Shit!" the man cursed as he watched blood well up on Ed's arm. "What the fuck kind of alchemy are you doing!?"

"Doesn't really matter. You wouldn't understand," Ed smiled as he dropped the small piece of skin. The circle activated as soon as the skin touched the ground and Ed buried his face in his sleeve. A pulse of gaseous material burst forth, spreading out in a circle to cover the entire swamp. When Ed uncovered his face, his companion was laying on the ground, having fallen when the paralysis poison had struck him. "Don't worry! It'll wear off in about an hour," Ed waved as he turned to walk out of the swamp.

***End note. For the paralysis poison, I loosely based the ingredients off of the Skyrim recipe for paralysis.


	5. Chapter 4

Finally, another chapter! This one is a bit longer, but I couldn't seem to find a good ending point. Tiny hint of smut here. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters!

**Chapter 4**

The next day Ed walked out of the Fuehrer's office trying not to let his eye twitch noticeably. He had been granted the rank of a State Alchemist, but with the rank came a name. The name was chosen by the Fuehrer directly and would set the tone for every future interaction he would have with the military. He unfolded his designation paperwork and reread the name he had been given, The Artifice Alchemist.

On one hand, he found the name rather funny and he could see why it had been chosen for him. What he had done in the swamp had been clever and he had accomplished his task by tricking a fellow examinee into helping. On the other hand...the name struck just a bit too close to the truth. When they had first told him he passed and handed him the documents he'd looked up at the Fuehrer, sitting smugly behind his desk. The man's eyes had given nothing away, but the way he'd smiled had set Ed's teeth on edge. Did the man somehow know who he truly was, that he was Fullmetal? Ed chose not to think about it too hard right now and tucked the paper back into his pocket.

Taking a deep breath, Ed prepared himself to be Allen Hughes a lot more often and then pushed open the door of the office he had been assigned to. He donned a bright smile as he entered and quickly counted the other officers in the room. There were currently four men in the room, but there were a few other desks. Only one of the other desks appeared to actually be in use though, meaning this team had five people in addition to their Colonel. A quick glimpse told him that none of these four were alchemists. Finally, one of them noticed his presence and stood to greet him.

"Hi! Are you the new alchemist that's joining our team?" the man asked. He was shorter, _still taller than me_, Ed growled internally, with black hair that was slicked back and large round frames holding the glasses on his face. "I'm Kain Fuery. It's nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, I'm the new guy," Ed responded, keeping his smile in place as he scratched the back of his head in a gesture of nervousness. "I'm Allen Hughes. Nice to meet you too!"

"Did you say Hughes?!" another man blurted out. Ed turned his attention to a brunette with a stockier build and gave him a confused tilt of his head.

"Yeah, why?" Internally, Ed smirked. He knew that name would raise some questions and things seemed to be going very well for him as someone interrupted the question.

"Don't mind him. He's just nosy. That's Heymans Breda by the way, and I'm Jean Havoc," a blonde with a cigarette in his mouth offered as he stood.

"Oh yeah! You're the one from the recruitment table!" Ed exclaimed.

"What is all this noise?! Get back to work everyone," a female suddenly shouted and the four men all jumped back into their chairs, suddenly very nervous. Ed offered a wide eyed glace as she closed the door she had just come through and walked over to him.

"Uhmm, hi," he said when she was in front of him.

"You must be Allen. I'm Riza. It's a pleasure to meet you," she smiled as she offered her hand for a shake. Ed was momentarily thrown by her quick change of mood, but shook her hand never-the-less. He'd have to be careful around her. "If you'll follow me, the Colonel is waiting with your orders."

"Orders?" he asked.

"Yes. We're all being called to the Northwestern border at the end of this month, but the Colonel feels it would be best to test your skills on an easier mission before throwing you into the fray of war," she offered, completely monotone and unconcerned. _Damn, they really aren't kidding about that 'dog of the military' thing,_ Ed thought.

"Colonel!" Ed chirped happily as soon as Riza let him through the man's office door. Roy looked up from his paperwork and Ed could tell he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the Artifice Alchemist," Roy smirked. It was very subtle, but he could make out a flash of something in the younger man's eyes. Something that didn't match the happy personality he normally portrayed. It was something that Roy intended to figure out during his time working with Allen.

"That's me! Told you I didn't need that long to study," Ed said and observed as a flash of curiosity crossed Riza's face before she excused herself, closing the door behind her.

"So, Roy, what's this mission you have for me?"

"So I'm only Colonel when the others are present?" Roy raised an eyebrow, but received only a grin in response. He sighed. "I'm sending you to investigate reports of a chimera sighting a couple towns north of here. Our intel is reliable and says that there should only be one beast. Your mission is to find it and capture it. Any questions?"

"Creating a chimera is illegal isn't it? Why am I only going after the beast and not the person who created it?"

"Because we've already caught the responsible party. The beast is somewhat elusive, however. Our officers haven't been able to catch it, so the hope is that it will be easier for an alchemist to take care of," Roy explained.

"Got it, Roy! When's my train leave?" Ed asked enthusiastically as he turned toward the door.

It had been afternoon by the time he'd left Central, but it only took a couple of hours to reach his destination. The town was smaller than Central, but still felt larger than his hometown. Since it was getting close to dark, Ed decided to find a hotel to stay in for the night. He would start his investigation in the morning.

As he settled into his bed for the night, Ed couldn't stop himself from picturing the smirk on Roy's face from earlier in the day. He wouldn't lie, that had been sexy as hell. Since it was on that train of thought, his mind helpfully supplied images of Roy in the bar when Ed had kissed him and then images of the older man in his workout clothes, muscles flexing as he had lifted weights. _Maybe just this once,_ he thought as he slid his sleep pants and boxers down just enough to free his already hard length.

"Mmm," he moaned softly as he wrapped his flesh hand around his length and began to stroke it. He thought back to their kiss at the bar, how soft Roy's lips had been, how he wished he could have deepened the kiss...how those soft lips might feel on other parts of his body. Ed thought about the last blowjob he had gotten from one of the ladies at Madam's and his mind replaced the busty brunette with a muscular, raven-haired Colonel.

"Ahh," Ed hissed as his hand stroked faster, squeezing a little harder as his precum provided lubricant. The delicious friction, after going so long without, combined with the incredibly sexy images in his mind had Ed reaching his end much faster than he would have liked.

As he walked to the bathroom to clean up, Ed realized he felt almost more frustrated now than he had earlier. While his mind was very good at providing scientifically accurate images, his body was left wondering how it would feel in real life. Groaning, he moved back to the bed and collapsed, ready to sleep and forget all of his problems for at least a couple hours.

Roy stood in the entrance to his library, leaning against the door frame. His left hand was in his pocket and in his right he was nursing a glass of scotch. Allen hadn't even been gone for half a day, but he already missed the younger man. He didn't really want to think to hard about why he was missing him, but...dammit, his brain kept replaying the drugged up kiss Allen had given him.

Roy knew the younger man didn't remember that particular incident, but he had noticed the way Allen had stared while they were working out. Even though he had been under the influence of drugs...had he truly been interested in Roy? Was there any chance he could somehow repeat that situation with the younger man when drugs weren't involved?

This was a dangerous train of thought. Allen was now his subordinate and having any sort of relationship would be very frowned upon. If the Fuhrer ever found out...they'd both be out of a job faster than they could blink. The higher ups hadn't been angry that Allen lived with him though. It was common for members of the military to room together.

Perhaps he could see if Allen was interested in continuing to live with him? Then he could take it slow...test the waters and see if the younger man was truly interested before he decided exactly what he wanted. Nodding to himself, the Colonel decided that was a good idea and he moved through the library into his office. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyways so he may as well do some paperwork.

The next morning Ed grumbled to himself as he walked down the streets. He'd quickly discovered that investigating like a state alchemist should was time consuming and frustrating. Investigations as Fullmetal were definitely brutal but tended to yield results in roughly a half hour tops. Now, however, he could only use legal methods. It wouldn't do for the wrong person to see him in a shady area now that he worked for the state. There was no telling who could potentially be watching him. Hawkeye did say this was to be a test.

A few hours of questioning random citizens on the streets finally had Ed moving toward an abandoned shack on the outskirts of town. He'd spoken to a family that lived nearby the shack and they'd told him about the strange sounds they had heard there last night. It wasn't much of a lead, but if nothing else, perhaps he'd get lucky and find a branch of the underground operating out of the shack. Then he'd have a legitimate reason for being there and he could question them before killing one or two to ensure the rest wouldn't speak of their meeting.

After that thought, Ed was almost disappointed when he opened the door to find the scaly chimera hiding within the shack. The fading daylight revealed a creature with a scaly, reptilian body, a long, fluffy tail similar to a leopards, with the claws and sharp canines of a leopard as well. It's head was large and heavy and as Ed observed that the legs were the same as the head, he realized it was from a bear. There were at least two different, very dangerous predators combined in this creature and when it noticed Ed standing in the way of it's only exit the creature snarled menacingly at him.

The chimera lunged at Ed much quicker than he'd expected and he turned to run back outside and slam the door, blocking it's exit for a moment while he assessed his surroundings. Ed was suddenly very grateful that this shack was on the outskirts of town. There weren't very many houses nearby and he could tell at least a couple of the houses were also abandoned. Still, he couldn't risk anyone seeing him use alchemy without a circle, so when the chimera broke through the rickety wooden door Ed ran towards the woods.

Ducking through some underbrush, Ed spun around to wait for the creature. He could fight now that there were definitely no other people around. Clapping his hands, he touched a couple of nearby trees and a wooden cage suddenly dropped to the ground trapping the chimera as it crashed through the brush. Ed was preparing to strengthen the trap when the creature roared and clamped it's jaws, shattering a few of the bars before it crashed through and lunged for Ed again.

"Shit," Ed cursed as he was knocked backwards. Sharp claws shredded his pant leg and screeched against the metal of his automail leg. The sound seemed to anger the creature even more and it quickly closed it's jaws around the metal giving it a quick shake before letting go, sending Ed flying to crash into a nearby tree.

"God dammit," he cursed, growing angry himself. Ed's leg ached fiercely and he suspected he was bleeding from the connection point at his knee. Using the tree, Ed pulled himself to his feet before clapping to create another set of wooden bars between himself and the creature. He knew it wouldn't stop the chimera, but he hoped it would slow the thing down long enough for him to locate a better solution.

As he limped forward through the trees, he clapped a couple more times to create a few more sets of bars. He could hear the chimera roaring in anger as it came to each new set. Glancing down for just a second, Ed caught sight of the blood soaking his pant leg at his left knee and realized that the chimera could easily smell that. He was being hunted. The next snarl came from higher up than Ed was expecting and he looked over his shoulder to see the chimera in the trees above him.

"Oh, fuck you!" he shouted, suddenly sick of this entire situation. Looking forward once more, Ed noticed he was headed toward a hill of what appeared to be rocks. He forced himself to move faster and clapped as soon as he was within reach.

"Sir," Hawkeye stated as she stepped into Roy's office at headquarters.

"Yes?" he questioned without looking up from his paperwork.

"The Artifice Alchemist has returned from his mission." That time Roy did look up, a brow raised in question. "He was successful sir. Though he was injured...but he insisted on seeing a personal doctor in Central. He should return soon to give his report."

"Injured? How badly? Do you think he will be ready to ship out with us at the end of the month?" Roy asked.

"I suppose we will know when he returns with information from his doctor, but it seems his leg was injured and he was limping pretty badly," Hawkeye admitted. Roy suddenly wished Allen had allowed one of the military doctors to take care of him so that the Colonel would know where he was. He wouldn't try to visit, but...he would use his influence to learn the extent of the injury directly from the doctor.

"Very well. Send him in as soon as he arrives," Roy instructed before dismissing his subordinate. She nodded and then stepped out of the room, immediately shouting at the rest of his unit to get back to work.

Ed did not report to the office that day and Roy found that he was worried. He was getting even angrier that the young man was too stubborn to see a military doctor. Roy had no clue where the other man was or how badly he was hurt and it was driving him insane.

When he finally arrived home, Roy was stunned to see a light on in his living room window. Wondering who would be stupid enough to break into his home, Roy pulled his gloved hand out of his pocket and silently made his way into the house. Making sure to stay out of the line of sight to the living room, he pressed himself against the wall near the entrance to the living room in his entry hall. Slowly peering around the door frame, Roy was shocked to find his subordinate resting on the couch, one leg propped up and draped in a blanket up to his waist.

"Allen! Why are you well enough to be here, but not well enough to report to headquarters regarding your mission?" he demanded, startling the younger man.

"Uh...well..you see...I'm sorry. It took longer than I thought it would at the doctor's and he told me not to walk to much for the next two days. I didn't know where else to go so I had him drop me off here. I hope that's alright?" Ed gave his best puppy dog eyes and waited for the Colonel's response. The older man looked tense, but Ed guessed it was less anger and more worry.

"Fine," Roy huffed. "But you can give me your report now and I'll bring you the paperwork to complete tomorrow."

"Deal," Ed responded brightly, plastering on his best fake smile. He then launched into his explanation of what happened, where he found the chimera and how he finally managed to trap it. He ended by letting the Colonel know exactly which officers had arrived to take the creature into custody and where they said they would be keeping it.

When Roy asked about the injury Ed told him that the creature had bitten him, causing a few puncture wounds and then shook him, partially dislocating his knee. It wasn't a complete lie. The creature's teeth did puncture the metal and the connection point was partially ripped out which was equal to a partial dislocation of an actual knee, just with more blood involved.

"I want a detailed description of the chimera in your report tomorrow. For now you should get some rest," Roy said as he stood from where he had taken a seat on the couch. "Do you need help getting to your room?"

"I can probably manage," Ed tried to wave the older man off. As much as he wanted to touch and be touched by this man, letting the older man learn about his automail was not part of the plan. When Roy continued to stand there, eyeing him skeptically, Ed sighed and decided to try standing, hoping to prove that he could handle walking across the kitchen to the guest room on his own.

"Shit," he hissed as he took his first step and the newly repaired connection point in his knee screamed silently in protest. Roy reached out and caught his shoulders to support him. Ed shivered at the contact. The only type of physical contact he had in many years was either a handshake over a business deal, or sexual in nature. This was neither and Ed wasn't quite sure what to do with that.

"Come on. I'll help you," Roy said as he moved to take one of Ed's arms. Realizing it was his automail arm Ed recoiled from the touch. "Are you okay?" Roy asked, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"Uh...yeah. I just...fell on that arm. It's a little sore is all," Ed stammered, turning so that Roy was on his left side. "This side is better. Thanks for helping me," he said, fake smile back in place.

For the next couple days Ed stayed off his feet as much as possible per his mechanic's orders. Whenever Roy did offer to help, Ed noticed that the older man kept to his left side, much to his relief. He had filled out the report and the Colonel had taken it with him to the office to turn in so Ed wouldn't have to worry about it.

When he was able to move a little bit more Ed had explored the house while the Colonel was at work. He'd already read through every book in the library while studying for the State Alchemists Exam, but to Ed's delight he discovered a shelf of books across the back wall of what appeared to be Roy's office just off the library. He immediately took a seat on a nearby stool and began reading through the new selection, notebook and pen at the ready.

Once Ed deemed himself well enough, he ventured down to the gym in the basement to start working out again. He rinsed off in the slightly public style bathroom of the gym since he was home alone, before taking a moment to explore the basement. He found a storage room just off of the larger open area. Across the hall from that was a locked door, but judging by the smell of grease and oil Ed guessed it to be an armory.

The last door farthest away from the staircase opened on a large storage area filled with expensive looking bottles of alcohol. It seemed the Colonel was a fan of scotch since the two shelves closest to the door where full of it. The next shelf back held whiskey, the next bourbon, and the back wall was lined with wine. Ed very much enjoyed whiskey so he grabbed a cheaper looking bottle from the bottom of the shelf before leaving the room to head back upstairs.


End file.
